I've been reading the archives on types of sleds to use for trapping, but unlike most I don't have hills, rivers, or heavy snow drifts to contend with.
I have 20 miles of 2 track almost all level ground, no creeks to cross, difts in the 2 foot range, and maybe 1`2 inches of snow from a storm, but lots of 4 to 6 inches snow storms, enough to have to winch the ATV out alot.
I would like a sled that I can use for trapping, but still use it for putting around, and pulling an ice shanty.



Early thanks for responding

I have had a SkiDoo Tundra, Summit, and currently own an Expedition LE. The Tundras are manueverable in tight spots, but very tippy, and like to dart to one side or the other on well used hard trails. The Summit was nice to ride, didn't tow well, and was more of a play machine. I'm liking my new Expedition LE so far, it is very stable, powerful, floats better than the other machines I have ridden. It has the 900 ACE and 20 inch track. It is heavy, so having a rope along is a must, although I don't think I'll get stuck very often with it.

If I want good gas mileage and a work machine I would look into the Skidoos 4 stroke Ace machines (Expedition or Skandic). If I want a comfortable ride with power decent pulling power and a lot less money up front I might consider the Polaris LXT 550 (2 stroke). I have put on many miles on both in lots of conditions. I paid nearly twice as much for my Skidoo as my Polaris, but it has made up the difference in fuel costs over the years and has great pulling power for big loads. If you don't pull many big loads and are not too concerned about gas mileage, I think the Polaris will do just fine for the conditions you are describing as it doesn't sound like you need a wide track.

I would go with one of the skidoo 4 strokes it doesn't have to be the wide track and as mentioned above the tundras are tippy but there are plenty of other good 4 stroke machines they will also outlast the polaris engine the 4 strokes are not even considered used up till they get 20K miles on them the current polaris engine tend to need rebuilding somewhere around 5-8K miles. I have a expedition with the 600 ACE and the 16 wide track love the 20 MPG it gets it paid for the extra cost in fuel saved the first yr I owned it. The new Polaris are almost as much as the skidoos anymore.

I'd go with the four stroke also for the fuel mileage. The Tundra's are tippy, but you describe some of the least tippy conditions (other than groomed trails) for snowmobiling, so if you can ride at all you shouldn't have a problem with one. I learned on one of the old Tundras, so any machine after that I got on I didn't have a problem riding (Elans were supposedly tippier than old Tundras but I've never ridden one). I really like the SWT (super wide track) that Skidoo makes but it would be overkill for your conditions.
If buying new I wouldn't look anywhere other than at the various Skidoo four strokes, used the advantage of lower prices of other machines could be taken into account. I'm currently running an Arctic Cat Bearcat with their big 1050cc four stroke. I would never buy it new for the price they have on it, but I bought it a few years old with 350 miles on it for a little over a third what they want new. Only snowmachine I've ever bought used, and while the comparable Skidoos are better in my opinion, for the price I've been pretty happy with it. And it is the most comfortable sled I've ever rode.

I bought a 2019 Tundra last fall. I have a lot of narrow trails which it does good on.
It doesn't seem that tippy to me unless I drive it on glare ice or hard packed snow that's glazed over.
I drove elans and Tundra R's for years, they were less stable then my new tundra.
I also have a 2013 Bearcat 550, it's a big heavy machine but if you're driving in the open it's very comfortable.

Yes, I've used a lot of Tundras (not all of them mine). My favorite was my 08 300, that design steered like a dream, got great fuel mileage for a 2 stroke and got around well. It was also less tippy than the Tundra Rs but more tippy than the new big Tundras. A word to the wise the 550 motor that Skidoo put in the big Tundras and in their Skandics is a great motor . . . if you own stock in Exxon. I've ran several of them, very reliable, run good, don't foul plugs putting around and towing a sled, and get 4-5 mpg. Less if you are breaking trail with a sled or riding when it is raining in the snow. I couldn't pack enough gas on the things for a long day and have room for gear also. I've found the 600 and 900 ACE motors and the 600 ETEC to all get around 18-20 average for me, while my Arctic Cat four stroke gets 11-12 (incidentally I've ran it a LOT side by side with my dads 07 Tundra 300 and we will use within a tenth of a gallon of the same amount of gas each day, virtually identical fuel mileage between the two machines regardless of conditions, with both of us pulling similar sleds).

Another thing to think about is cooling. If you are driving on ice, bare ground or even hard pack, particularly at slow speeds and pulling a sled most liquid cooled machines will overheat. I've not seen this issue with the Skidoo four strokes, they have a fan and radiator like an ATV. I put a fan and radiator in my Bearcat to alleviate this. I have had this issue with a 600 ETEC SWT, even though it has a small fan and radiator. Running it in Wyoming it would often get up in the mid forties during the day and I would have to pop the plastic hood off to allow more air to the engine. I was doing a lot of running on frozen ice and bare ground trails through the trees where you were going no more than 10 mph and when it got warm I was constantly overheated unless I removed the hood. When I did so I had no more issues. The air cooled machines like the Tundra Rs, 300 and 550 Skidoo and the Bearcat 550 (570?) that Rusty Newhouse mentions don't have these issues, but they burn more fuel than liquid cooled machines.

I wouldn't be able to justify the expense of a 4 stroke for a 20 mile line. Plus, you're able to use an atv till the snow gets too deep or drifted. Polaris makes some good machines. I would look for something like a polaris RMK with a 550 engine. Maybe even a 340.